J-Serve community service day, April 25 at Levine
J-Serve, the National Day of Jewish Youth Service, will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. on April 25. Jewish students in sixth through 12th grades will take part in community service. Since 2005, J-Serve has been a part of Youth Service America’s Global Youth Service Day.
Locally, it is sponsored by BBYO, Temple Shalom, USY, ATID, Tiferet Israel Congregation, Congregation Adat Chaverim, Temple Emanu-El, Congregation Shearith Israel, NFTY and the Center for Jewish Education of the Jewish Community of Greater Dallas. About 200 students are expected to attend.
Students in sixth through eighth grades will do projects on-site at Levine Academy, and others will go to various locations across the community. Some of the organizations they will serve are: Family Gateway, Carter BloodCare, Grace Unlimited, Legacy, Echad, Children’s Medical Center, Golden Acres, Soldiers from America and Israel, Vogel Alcove, Jewish Family Service and more.
J-Serve provides teens with the opportunity to fulfill the Jewish values of gemilut chasadim, acts of loving kindness; tzedakah, just and charitable giving; and tikkum olam, the responsibility to repair the world. Across the globe, all on one day, teens will join each other to make their community and the world a better place.
The day will also include a boys-vs.-girls tzedakah war and all money raised will go to the Jewish Youth Tzedakah Foundation for them to distribute the funds. Carter BloodCare will host a blood drive at Levine Academy from 1 to 5 p.m.
J-Serve 2010 is in partnership with Repair the World and Rock the Vote and is underwritten by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.
Teens must register to participate. To sign up or for more information, visit www.jserve.org.
Howard Cohen feted for 40 years of leadership
Congratulations to Howard Cohen, most tenured partner, for 40 years of innovative and dedicated leadership at Waldman Bros., a 71-year-old Dallas area insurance and financial services firm. Howard was honored with a surprise luncheon held in the Waldman Bros. atrium on March 29. In attendance were his wife, Carol Gene; their children Kay Ellen and Jacob Pollack, Barbi and Scott Cohen, Wendy and Gary Tobias and Lauren and Mark Cohen; and his nine wonderful grandchildren, along with more than 50 devoted partners, employees and many of their spouses. The company closed for the duration of lunch to allow all employees to celebrate together in true family fashion. Steve Waldman, Waldman Bros. CEO, praised Howard in a thoughtful public toast, crediting him for his integral role in developing Waldman’s stellar reputation. “Our firm’s character has never wavered, due in large part to your kindness, genuine love of people and desire to keep Waldman Bros. a close-knit family.” Steve presented Howard with a beautiful piece of Steuben crystal mounted on an engraved base. His distinctive national awards over the years are too numerous to list. Howard’s generosity in the nonprofit community is widely known, as is his role as mentor in the lives of many.
Dr. Arlene Jacobs to speak on Sjogren’s syndrome
For many years, I knew that my daughter, Linda Wisch-Davidsohn, had an auto-immune disease called Sjogren’s syndrome. I also knew that she was under the care of an excellent rheumatologist, Dr. Scott Zashin. However, it was not until recently that I found out the reasons for the seriousness of the disease, and Linda has many of them.
Sjogren’s syndrome often is undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The symptoms of Sjogren’s syndrome may mimic menopause, drug side effects or medical conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, scleroderma, vasculitis, chronic fatigue syndrome or multiple sclerosis as well as a host of other auto-immune diseases. Sjogren’s can be primary or secondary. Since all symptoms are not present at the same time and because Sjogren’s can involve multiple organ systems, physicians and dentists sometimes treat each symptom individually and do not recognize that a systemic disease is present. The average time from the onset of the disease to diagnosis is well over six years. In Linda’s case, her symptoms began in her late 30s, but it took almost 20 years to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Some of the symptoms are dry eyes and vision disorders, dry mouth, thrush, salivary gland problems, gastrointestinal disorders, recurrent bronchitis and pneumonia, gynecological issues, as well as blood vessel and neurological involvement and joint disorders. Although there is no cure for Sjogren’s syndrome, there are some treatments available that may help with the aggravating discomfort. The best news of all is that Sjogren’s syndrome is treatable, and early diagnosis and proper treatment may prevent serious complications and greatly improve the quality of life for individuals living with Sjogren’s.
The Dallas Area Support Group of the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation will hear Dr. Arlene Jacobs, board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, who is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is also a member of the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Medical Association as well as the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. She has a medical practice in Plano.
Dr. Jacobs will speak on “Gynecological Manifestations of Sjogren’s” at 1 p.m. on April 24 at the Baylor College of Dentistry, Room 211, 3302 Gaston Ave.
Because of limited seating, RSVPs should be made to Jamie Wilson, support group leader, sjogrengal@tx.rr.com.
A very special ‘Fiddler’ plays at the JCC on May 2
Habima Theatre will present a special cast in an adaptation of “Fiddler on the Roof” at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 2 in the Zale Auditorium at the Aaron Family JCC, 7900 Northaven Road, Dallas. Tickets are $5 general admission and $18 preferred seating.
For more information, contact Laura Seymour at 214-239-7110 or lseymour@jccdallas.org.
The Habima Theatre performers are a troupe of adults with developmental special needs. They work together with wonderful volunteers to create a truly memorable performance.
Beth Torah food drive
In preparation for Beth Torah’s Karen Leynor Mitzvah Day on April 25, the congregation is holding a food drive with a goal of 2,000 food items. Readers are asked to contribute the following before Mitzvah Day: dried beans, cookies, snack crackers, cake mix, pasta side dishes, jello, toiletries (soaps, shampoos, deodorant, toothpaste, diapers, feminine products), any non-perishable food items in small servings (no bulk unless packaged separately). Monetary donations are also gratefully accepted. Congregation Beth Torah is located at 720 W. Lookout Drive, Richardson.
On the business scene
Quadrant Capital Partners announced last month that Randall Fleisher, former managing director of CB Richard Ellis’ Dallas Debt and Equity Finance platform, has joined Quadrant as a partner. Since 1993, Mr. Fleisher has built a career in commercial real estate finance and has spent the last 14 years with CB Richard Ellis. Mr. Fleisher has consistently been recognized as a member of the Colbert Coldwell Circle as one of the highest producing employees within CBRE. In his new role, Fleisher will provide debt and equity advisory services to his clients and relationships as well as those of Quadrant. In addition, he will help expand Quadrant’s distressed debt investment programs including Quadrant Residential Partners and Quadrant Commercial Partners.
Prior to his employment with CBRE, Mr. Fleisher was an attorney with the law firm of Monk Goodwin in Manitoba, Canada, where he practiced real estate and commercial law. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Manitoba; a Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance, Investment and Banking from the University of Wisconsin; and a Master of Science, Real Estate and Finance from the University of North Texas. “Randy and I have invested together in a number of assets and businesses,” says Quadrant President Michael Young, “His business acumen, skill set and relationships are well suited to growing the Quadrant platform.”
Located here in Dallas, Quadrant Capital focuses on investing in what it believes are mispriced real estate assets and mispriced debt opportunities. Over the last 12 months, Quadrant has acquired a number of pools of distressed residential, consumer and commercial loans. While actively pursuing additional distressed real estate loans and assets, Quadrant will also expand its commercial real estate finance franchise.
A member of Shearith Israel, and president of the Levine Academy school board, Fleisher is married to Lisa and has two children.
Art Show and wine pull at Shearith next weekend
Congregation Shearith Israel will host the Israel Expressions Art Exhibit and Sale, May 2-5. Admission is free and open to the entire community. The exhibit, sponsored by the state of Israel, is the largest display of Israeli art ever brought to the United States. It will feature many types of art from Israel, including jewelry, pottery and wall art. The range of work reflects the variety of styles that comprise Israel’s culture. This 96-hour exhibit and sale is a wonderful way to see beautiful art and support Israel at the same time. Exhibit Coordinator Itzhak Assour is a former colonel in the Israel Defense Forces who found his art talent after a career-ending injury in the army.
An opening night reception on May 2 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. will feature a Wine Pull. This complimentary reception is sponsored by Glazers and Spice of Life with appetizers and wine. The wine pull is an event in which participants pay $10 to blindly select, or “pull,” a bottle of wine. Of course, the labels are hidden, thus adding to the mystery and surprise! The fun is in knowing that you could pick one of the expensive gems worth much more than $10. Tickets can be purchased at the front desk during business hours or at the event itself.
For more information on the Israel Expressions Art Show or the Wine Pull, please contact Mona Allen at 214-939-7318 or mallen@shearith.org.
Further details can also be found at www.shearith.org.
